Up, Up and Away!

I really had no plans to go to the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival until the last minute. I don’t know why, honestly! I just felt I needed to be there. *big smile*

Anyways, I purchased tickets last Friday from SM Ticketnet outlet in SM Makati. This is probably the best thing I did! Why? Because the queue on the event is shorter if you have tickets already. I wouldn’t have the patience to line up especially if I lack sleep. Yes, I woke up at 3 am to prepare for this. J picked me up at 4:30 am.  As we expected, heavy traffic greeted us at the entrance of Clark so we were able to get inside at around 5:40 am.

Reminders for those who plan to attend the festival:

*** Buy tickets beforehand. Trust me, it will be a lot easier.

*** Be on the venue as early as 4 am or earlier if you can. Parking your vehicle takes time. Also, you will need to walk from the parking to the venue. Plus, there is a long queue on the entrance itself.

*** Wear comfortable clothing and foot wear. You will not perspire because it’s still early morning and the cold February breeze is prevalent. But you will need closed foot wear because the passageways are not cemented. There are also parts which are full of weeds.

*** Bring water to rehydrate yourself from walking. An umbrella should be kept handy in case it rains or you decide to stay until after the sun shines.

*** Bring food if you can. Although there are food concessionaires, I think that they are pricey. J bought a tapsilog meal for P100 (he said it didn’t taste good) and I had a pork bbq (which is 60% meat and 40% fat) for P35.

Here are some photos from the festival. We didn’t have the chance to go near the balloons since we didn't have a press/media/sponsor pass. Nevertheless, we felt like kids watching the balloons being inflated and then finally flying to the sky.

Did you go to the festival? How was your experience?